Bio

Toni Kroos was born in Greifswald, East Germany on 4 January 1990. Primarily a central midfield player, he is capable of playing in both attacking and defensive roles and is also able to play on the flanks as a winger. He is known for his passing accuracy, creative talents and workrate and is widely regarded as one of the best playmakers in the world.

Kroos began playing youth team football with Greifswalder SV in 1997 and subsequently moved to Hansa Rostock in 2002. Then, in 2006, he joined the Bayern Munich academy and worked his way up through the ranks, making his debut for the senior team in 2007. However, in the years that followed, he struggled for consistent playing time and was sent on loan to Bayer Leverkusen for 18-months in order to gain experience.

During his time with Leverkusen, Kroos established himself as a first team player and his performances during the 2009-10 season saw him earn back-to-back Player of the Month awards from Kicker. He returned to Bayern Munich in the summer of 2010 and found far more first team opportunities, making a total of 27 league appearances during the 2010-11 season. In the years since, he has become an important part of the team's success. Despite missing the tail end of the 2012-13 season through injury, Kroos helped the team to win the Bundesliga title, DFB-Pokal and Champions League treble.

On the international stage, Kroos represented Germany at various youth levels between 2005 and 2009. He impressed with his performances at the UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship in 2006 and was named as the tournament's Golden Player. In 2010, he made his debut for the senior team and went on to represent his country at both the 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2012 European Championships.

Having seen Cristiano Ronaldo pilloried for holding a lavish birthday party in the aftermath of Real Madrid's derby defeat to Atletico Madrid, Toni Kroos has revealed he did not attend for fear of similar treatment... Read more